Rep. Sharice Davids launches campaign promoting stalled bipartisan infrastructure deal
Rep. Sharice Davids stood at the edge of a closed bridge in Kansas City, Kansas Thursday to announce the first of several reports planned to detail unmet infrastructure needs in Kansas' 3rd Congressional District.
It's part of a broader campaign by Davids and other Democrats to promote the bipartisan infrastructure deal currently stalled in the House.
Davids focused Thursday on bridges in need of repair — like the Central Avenue Bridge in KCK that has been closed since February because it was in danger of failing.
"A lot of us recognize the urgency of the situation, an urgency we've been talking about for a long time," Davids said of the infrastructure bill.
At the Capitol, the $1.2 trillion infrastructure measure has been held up as Democrats negotiate over what to include in a massive budget bill that contains a long list of President Joe Biden's legislative priorities, from expanding access to health care to combating climate change.
A scheduled vote on the infrastructure bill last month was delayed after a group of progressive House Democrats said they would not vote for it until there was agreement on what to include in the budget bill. The impasse has launched the party into a period of intense negotiations that will likely last for weeks.
Davids has largely stayed out of internal fights on how to pass the bill. On Tuesday she was included in a virtual meeting between Biden and a group of Democrats who may face competitive elections in 2022. Afterward, Davids said she emphasized the need for Congress to pass an infrastructure bill.
On Thursday, Davids expressed disappointment that a deal wasn't struck by the end of September but said she was optimistic that one would be reached soon.
A report she released Tuesday contained little that was new. It drew on American Road and Transportation Builders Association data showing that 732 bridges in the 3rd Congressional District need repairs, at an estimated cost of $1.4 billion. Of those bridges, 34 are considered "structurally deficient" and six are among the 10 most traveled structurally deficient bridges in the state.
Davids said the infrastructure bill could help resolve that. Under the bill, Kansas would get $225 million for bridge repair according to the White House.
David Alvey, the Mayor of the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Lindsey Douglas, deputy secretary of transportation in Kansas, said the federal funds would help supplement and expand existing projects in the state. "Our community is worth the investment in infrastructure," Alvey said.